Law Office Management & Computers
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Law office management often is referred to as the business side of legal practice. To an extent, this characterization is accurate, but it also is limited. Law office management also may refer to the conduct of the sometimes mundane activities that must be accomplished to allow the core functions of a legal practice to be performed in an efficient manner (Gottschalk 79). In essence, law office management brings some degree of order to the chaos surrounding legal practice.Legal practice organizations are among the many and diverse entities that have found that information technology, properly applied, can be an almost indispensable tool in the effort to introduce and maintain order among all of the elements in the complex environment of legal practice. Computers represent the essential tool involved in the application of information technology in legal practice organizations (Edwards 98-112). The application of information technology in legal practice organizations involves diverse aspects of the functioning of such organizations, each of which can support an in-depth study. At a macro level, however, the various applications in information technology in legal practice organizations may be reviewed together within the context of the implementation and operation of knowledge management in legal practice organizations (Gottschalk, 80). Knowledge and Knowledge Management in Legal Practice Organizations Knowledge has become a primary resource in many diff
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of authority.ß Within such organizations, decision-making is typically top-down in character.ß This type of organizational structure is mechanistic (Blackler 1032).ß
Organizations functioning within a dynamic external environment frequently are chaotic in character·defined as looser, free-flowing, and adaptive.ß People tend to find their own way through the system to figure out what to do. Decision-making authority is decentralized.ß Such internal organizational structures are organic in character (Blackler 1032).
The organic organizational structure is associated with change. Innovation is fostered by an organic organizational structure, while innovation tends to be stifled by a mechanistic organizational structure.ß Within the context of organizational structure, the complex and often chaotic legal environment of demands a legal practice management approach based on an organic model of an ever changing world. Information technology and knowledge management are crucial to effective decision-making within an organic model. Information technology allows knowledge management to span organizational boundaries, foster innovation, promote efficiency, and link organizational knowledge to planned outcomes (Blackler 1034).
The int
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Practice Organizations, Organizations Knowledge, Conclusion Knowledge, Introduction Law, legal practice, knowledge management, legal practice organization, practice organization, legal practice organizations, practice organizations, information technology, knowledge management strategy, management strategy, organizational structure, Organization Studies, external environment, Communication Studies, Knowledge Management, management legal, Information Science, management legal practice, law office, technology legal practice, Law Technology, Thompson Learning,
Approximate Word count = 1845
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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